Happy Christmas

I have been in Sydney now for over a week and it has been a brilliant stop over so far; spending the first 5 days sorting out the boat and some big repairs to our sails, mixed with parties in the evenings. I then had 3 days off to see some of the sights, first trip to the famous Bondi Beach, then a day on a coach trip out to the Blue Mountains which are about 50 miles to the west and really are blue! The Scenic World Railway and cable car then took us right down in to the valley and back up passing the iconic rock formations called the Three Sisters. After lunch we returned via a wildlife park and saw some of Australia's native animals; Koalas, Kangeroos and Crocodiles, with a chance to cuddle the first two, but not the third!

Last Saturday, my Dad and I took the famous ferry over the Harbour to Manly for the day- with half of Sydney also heading out for the weekend! We then met up with Dave (from Leg 3 who is recovering well from his injury) and some of our crew for drinks and a meal.

While I was having time off, Mission Performance, along with all the other boats, was taken out of the water to have her under side cleaned (by Claire, Neil, Ant and Derek) of all the algae that has accumulated on her since London, followed by applying a coat of anti fouling paint. We also found a piece of rope had become attached to the folding propeller, holding it in an open position and potentially causing extra drag on the boat. Even small things like this can slow us down over the very long distances we have traveled, so it will be interesting to see if we start to perform a little better in the future races having sorted this problem out and one or two minor adjustments to the rudders.

So now back in the water and ready for action we took her out for a Spinnaker shoot (flying our Mission Performance branded Spinnaker under Sydney Harbour Bridge) with photographers capturing the moment, along with my Dad trying to do the same from the bridge.

With 1 day before the Sydney to Hobart Race, tensions are beginning to grow in the marina. The Clipper yachts will be racing in their own class as well as against approximately 75 other boats, with the favourite to win being 'Wild Oats'. This occasion is one of the highlights of the Australian sporting year along side the Melbourne Cup and the Boxing Day test match. So there is a lot of talk in the Press and Television about our participation in the race.

Now the sails are back on board the boat and we are ready for the race. So Matt has given us an easy day on Christmas Day, with a planned trip to Bondi Beach.

Happy Christmas to you all from Sophie, Team Mission Performance, oh and my Dad!